Back in 2010, the M3 was celebrating its 25th anniversary, which was a perfect opportunity for BMW to begin launching a bunch of special editions all over the world. China, for example, received the cool Tiger Edition, and since the Chinese market is flourishing, BMW has decided to throw them yet another special edition called the M3 Coupe Matte Edition.
Compared to a standard M3, the M3 Matte edition will be distinguished by two unique exterior paints: gunmetal gray and black. Both of these colors have been obtained by combining a metallic finish with a silky matte clear coat that allows for the special luxury gloss to glisten in the sun. Next to this, the special edition has also received new 19" black high-gloss alloy wheels, black chrome side air intakes and exhaust pipes, and red brake calipers.
The interior also get splashes of black and red in the black carbon fiber insertions and leather on the front and rear seats, and the door armrests. These are further decorated with red accent stitching.
In terms of power, the special edition M3 will still come packing its usual 4.0L V8 engine producing 414 HP and 295 lb-ft of torque. This engine is mated to the M3’s six-speed manual transmission with a seven-speed dual-clutch automated-manual transmission (M DCT)as an option.
China is a very important market among automakers, so you’re going to have to excuse them if they get vehicles built exclusively for their country. Other nations can’t claim to have that importance, but they probably would get it if they were home to arguably the biggest market in the world.
One automaker jumping into the China bandwagon is BMW, which presented plans for a China-only New Energy Vehicle at the company’s annual press conference last week.
Details on the car are still limited, although from what we took during the press conference, the car is expected to be the 2011 BMW 5-Series New Energy Vehicle. Based on the long-wheelbase version of the 5er, the BMW 5-Series NEV is being rumored to carry the company’s new ActiveHybrid 5 technology, which if true, would fit in nicely with China’s policy of having more fuel-efficient cars on the road.
For now, there are no plans of the car being sold in any other country except China so if you were angling to get a piece of this car when it hits production, you’re going to have a tough time scooping one up unless you live there.
What you can do, though, is head over to the Shanghai Motor Show, the place where BMW will be officially introducing the car to the Chinese market.
*Photo is of the BMW Concept 5 Series ActiveHybrid
Disenchanted with a company who refuses to acknowledge your rights as a consumer? There’s a remedy for that. Why don’t you take the lead set by this Chinese man and have some people destroy your conked out item out on the streets! Of course, it certainly helps if that item is as expensive as a $750,000 Lamborghini Gallardo, which grabs attention all by itself.
In a surreal display of public anger and disappointment towards the Italian supercar maker, a young Chinese man brought his defective Lamborghini Gallardo and asked people to shamelessly destroy it in front of a gathered crowd. The public display of destruction was born out of the man’s frustration on how he felt was a severe lack of attention and concern shown by Lamborghini to his Gallardo.
According to reports, the Lamborghini supercar was bought six months ago and in that short span of time, has already encountered a number of problems, including one instance where the car just wouldn’t start. The owner then had the Gallardo towed to a local dealer only to find out that, during the transit of the vehicle, both the bumper and the fender were also damaged. Of course nobody stood up and claimed responsibility for the reckless mistreatment. On top of that, the dealer still wasn’t able to fix the ‘start’ problem of the car.
Frustrated, the Chinese owner tried to get in contact with the top brass of Lamborghini, most notably CEO Stephan Winkelmann, in an effort to find a solution to the problem. Unfortunately, even that attempt fell on deaf ears. So without anybody from Lamborghini helping him out, the man took to the streets to show the Italian brand the kind of public humiliation that can taint an esteemed brand’s image.
And you know what the best part about this whole thing was? The public demolition of the Lamborghini Gallardo happened on World Consumer Rights Day.
Top Gear’s success spreads far and wide, so much so that it’s already produced offsprings both in the US and in Australia. Now, it looks like another version is getting closer and closer to production.
The latest version of the successful British car show appears to be in China, with reports coming out that the pilot episode has already been produced. There isn’t any word yet on how the pilot episode ran, but it appears that the Chinese version will at least attempt to carry the humorous format of the original version. For the pilot, the three-man crew led by comedian Cao Yunjin, apparently tried to do a test between a Cadillac and a donkey to see which could push millstones around a farmyard more effectively.
Despite the dry attempt at catching a few laughs, the Chinese version of Top Gear won’t be as over-the-edge as the original British show. In an interview with China’s Global Times, the host mentioned that partly because of stringent censorship in the country, Top Gear China will not be as over-the-top as its British counterpart with stunts like say pushing a Maserati over a three-story building and smashing it.
"It may be too much violence for a fun program in China," Cao said. "We will do more localized fun stuff."
We haven’t had a chance to see a preview of Top Gear China – not that we’d understand it anyway – but we’re all hoping that it would be successful enough to be developed into a full-fledged show. At least if they stick to the ‘fun’ formula that has turned the show into one of the most iconic TV programs in the world today.
Let’s just say that you’re in need of someone that can literally create something out of nothing. You’re not going to find anybody better than this genius Chinese dude named An Jiaxuan.
You know how the term ‘inventor’ has been thrown around these days like it doesn’t mean something? Well, thank goodness for this man. An Jiaxuan does justice to that title because he’s a pretty darn good one.
Together with his buddy, An Jiaxuan can create just about anything with his hands, including a software that allows him to electronically control a BMW 1-Series from his Nokia C7 smartphone. We’re not talking about those little R/C cars you buy at Toys ‘R Us. We’re actually talking about a real, life-sized 1-Series.
This video is a definite must-watch, one that leads you to think how a dude like An Jiaxuan isn’t employed by an automaker that can definitely use his technological wizardry.
We’ll be honest; a side of us wants to be apprehensive about this whole deal because it’s just too good to be true. But if this is indeed legit, which we sincerely hope it is, then this is about the coolest thing we’ve ever seen.
Porsche Asia have quietly announced the launch of a limited edition Carrera Cup model – with just 30 units on offer exclusively for the growing Chinese market.
Like most special Porsches, the limited Carrera Cup Asia, makes absolutely no effort in hiding its performance heritage or close relationship to the race track. The available color schemes further emphasize this point – Guard Red, Carrera White, and black all come with in-your-face Porsche Racing decals and painted, lightweight 19” wheels. Let’s just say you’ll never mistake it in traffic or on the track for that matter.
Power is the same as the “normal” Carrera S at 385HP and 420Nm whilst the 0-100km/h sprint time is improved to 4.3 secs (from 4.6) due to more clever shedding of weight without compromising on comfort. They are only available with the 7 speed PDK transmission though – a bummer if you’re a serious driver wanting total control, but don’t let that deter you one bit as it’ll still hit 300km/h. This is still a Porsche and a drivers’ one at that.
Inside you’ll find special alcantara Recaro seats that are bespoke to the car, with the option of carbon fiber backrests for that racy feel - not that they’re necessary. There are red signatures spread throughout the cabin that stir the blood, of which our favorite being the illuminated Carrera S logo housed in the carbon fiber door sill. Who wouldn’t want to spend all their time in here?! The limited edition plaque on the inside completes the unique experience: “whoever drives this car is amongst the winners” You can be certain of that!
Some folks simply aren’t satisfied with the amount of attention brought on by driving a 400-horsepower super car. We don’t understand it, but that has to be the reason Spyker decided to dress up their C8 Spyder in chrome and bring it to China for the Beijing Auto Expo. This vehicle should be enough to satisfy some egos.
Some people may like chrome, including the Chinese fellow who reportedly scooped up this car for 4.8 million yuan, on their cars, but we’re on the other side of the fence here. Chrome is good for a lot of things, including a car’s rims, but painting an entire car, let alone a Spyker C8 Spyder, in chrome is not really what we’d call ‘pleasant to the eyes’.
But hey, beauty is still in the eye of the beholder, and if someone liked it enough to part with 4.8 million yuan, then that’s his decision.
We just wouldn’t want to see this car on the other side of the road in the middle of the day, that is, unless we had some polarized glasses at our disposal.
Spy photos? Yeah, okay. Teaser videos? Uh-huh. Public unveiling? Go on. Hair-raising trailer with freakishly scary music? That’s the way to go!
Never mind that it’s got a little unidentified animal aggressively ramming a cargo container feel to it, the three-and-a-half minute trailer of the BMW M3 Tiger Edition is a definite must-watch.
The limited-edition M3 is decked in an Orange Fire finish and is only available for the Chinese market. To go with the exclusivity, the sports car comes with a number of unique styling cues, including the aforementioned Orange Fire paint color, black air intakes, kidney grilles, dark chrome exhaust tips, and a set of 359M 19-inch styling wheels.
As for the interior, BMW gave it a black Novillo leather upholstery treatment with an embroidered orange tiger emblem on the headrest to commemorate the car’s unique name, which was given to it as a tribute to the year 2010 as “The Year of The Tiger” in the Chinese calendar.
So, whatever you’re doing now, drop it and spend the next three minutes watching this trailer. You won’t regret it.
The Opel brand has been fairly big in Europe, despite its financial troubles. That being said, the nameplate isn’t that well known outside of continental Europe. That might soon change.
General Motors hopes to use the brand’s brilliant product lineup to attack consumers in China, South America, and Australia, according to Deutsche Welle in Germany. GM hopes to establish Opel as a premium brand.
Last year, the automaker sold 4,000 vehicles in China, as part of its preparation efforts for expansion into the country. The brand will be marketed as a European premium brand, as there are more and more people who can afford such a vehicle in China.
It should be interesting to see what becomes of Buick in China, as they were usually just Opels with a new badge. As we all know, Buick is very popular there, so GM needs to be careful not to hurt that market.
As the Chinese automotive market continues to grow and play a very important role in the automotive industry, we fully expected to see more cars developed especially for it. And just how Europe got the M3 GTS, China will also be getting its own BMW M3 special edition. It will be called the Tiger Edition and will be limited to 250 units.
This special edition is appropriately named the Tiger due to the fact that 2010 is "The Year of The Tiger" in China. In fact, it starts on February 14, 2010 and ends on February 2, 2011. The tiger is also a symbol of bravery so the name was carefully chosen to excel in this particular market.
The M3 Tiger will be wrapped in Fire Orange metallic paint (same as the GTS) with contrasting black touches on the air intakes, the kidney grills, and chrome exhaust tips. The exterior package is finished by 19 inch black wheels.
On the interior it will get Novilla black leather with orange stitching, and, of course, a unique Tiger logo.
